Chris and I spent the afternoon with a variety of state employees.
One was a nice experience and one was pure hell.
We attended the retirement party for Chris' dad, combined with the retirement of two others, and it was a very nice occasion put on at the expense of their co-workers.
No taxpayer dollars were used in this celebration and while I usually celebrate saving taxpayer dollars, it is an insult that as an employer the state doesn't fully honor their employees.
The Big Lug Nut could do with one less of his numerous spokespeople which would more than pay for cake & punch.
The only other downer was Charles Krogmeier's inability to learn the names of the two other retirees and pronounce the one he read correctly. Come on Chuckles you had a thirty minute drive, with knowledgeable subordinates who could have briefed you, to show proper appreciation for people with 20+, 30+ and 40 years of service.
From there our day degenerated as Chris needed to renew her driver's license at the Iowa Motor Vehicle Division Building in Ankeny.
There was a long line when we got there just to get a number to speak with an employee.
It took at least thirty minutes before we got to the front to get a number, it was at that point that some bureaucratic genius decided to open up two lines.
With number 617 in our possession we sat down and waited for the bingo game/crapshoot that is to be played.
That's the only comparison I have because they called numbers in the 100s, 200s, 500s and 600s randomly.
This segment of our lives took forty minutes, during which we watched many of those that came behind us called up to the desks.
During that time I kept telling Chris, don't get sick because this is how government run health care will be.
Finally 617 was called and Chris answered a few questions, although they wouldn't listen to me when they questioned her mental stability (she did marry me after all and that should raise a few eyebrows).
After payment it was off to wait at pictureland.
Total time at this fun experience was well over 1 1/2 hours and as I walked out the doors I lifted my arms and shouted -- FREEDOM!
I was surprised Chris got an actual license and not the paper substitute.
As part of the government's new anti-fraud measures they will mail the licenses to your residence, because they've apparently never heard of mail fraud.
Newsbusters caught this whopper from President Obama...
"The United States of America does not quit once it starts on something. You don't quit, the American armed services does not quit. We keep at it. We persevere." -- Pres. Obama to US troops in Afghanistan, March 28, 2010
"Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is calling for the immediate withdrawal of all U.S. combat brigades from Iraq, with the pullout being completed by the end of next year. 'Let me be clear: There is no military solution in Iraq and there never was,' Obama said." -- Obama calls for immediate withdrawal from Iraq, AP, Sep. 12, 2007
Maybe he's just confusing persevere with perverse.
It's being reported that two institutions in Iowa will be dimming their lights, tonight, for Earth Hour.
From 8:30 to 9:30, The Iowa State Capitol will be turning off all lighting (except security lighting and lighting required by the Federal Aviation Administration).
I'm thinking that blubbering fool didn't realize Earth Hour is a project of the World Wildlife Federation.
The Quaker Oats sign in Cedar Rapids will be turned off for the hour, now if they could only turn off the smell that city wouldn't be known as Cedar RANCID.
Quaker Oats is owned by Pepsico and their Chairman/CEO has a history of flipping off America.
The Ragister also gave suggestions on how to spend the hour, a couple of which include --
However, casino revenues have been down, as of last fall (I Yay Yay).
The Iowa Legislative Services Bureau reports that Iowa casino tax revenue growth has been negative for eight consecutive months.
For the past 12 months, Iowa casino taxes have totaled $287.5 million, which was down 4.1 percent from the same period a year earlier, state officials said.
You couldn't even get the station in my mom's hospital room.
Interesting(?) side note -- Anchor Amanda Krenz's grandmother was in the room next door and after hearing some conversations, the only bright thing about Amanda is when the TV lights shine on her.
It's obvious that we're not putting enough emphasis on the arts in Iowa schools when you see this headline...
Iowa scores slip on national reading tests The state’s eighth graders scored lower on the National Assessment of Educational Progress in 2009, while the nation’s average score jumped one point.
I overheard an interview Maggie Rodriguez did with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
Rodriguez asked the one time Kansas Governor whether the President could be trusted not to rescind an executive order reiterating a U.S. ban on federal funding for abortions.
At first Sebelius gave a standard campaign type response, but Rodriguez pressed her to answer the question and the HHS Secretary said...
The President had picked Kansas as the winner of the entire NCAA Men's Tournament.
Adam Koch's dunk, with authority at 1:19 left in the game, off of Kwadzo Ahelegbe's missed three pointer had Chris & I screaming so loud our cat Kismet ran for the bedroom.
However, I do like to register my protest and this may be one way to do so, although the penalty for not filling out the census is a fine of up to $5,000.
If that wasn't convincing enough the envelope had YOUR RESPONSE IS REQUIRED BY LAW in a box in boldface.
In a letter dated March 15, 2010 A message from the Director, U.S. Census Bureau tells me to Please complete and mail back the enclosed census form today.
So I open the form and question one tells me, again in boldface, The Census must count every person living in the United States on April 1, 2010. Before you answer Question 1, count the people living in this house, apartment, or mobile home using our guidelines.
In order to use those guidelines I have to be clairvoyant because today is March 19 2K10 and I have no idea what April 1 2K10 will bring.
Question 1 then asks -- How many people were living or staying in this house, apartment, or mobile home on April 1, 2010?
IS THIS AN EARLY APRIL FOOL'S JOKE?
BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW, IT HASN'T HAPPENED YET!
Question 2 -- Were there any additional (underlined) people staying her April 1, 2010 that you did not include (three previous words all underlined) in Question 1?
SEE PREVIOUS ANSWER!
I love Question 4 -- What is your telephone number?We may call if we don't understand an answer.
I don't understand your questions!
I thought this was supposed to be so simple and only ten questions, but that's only if I live by myself on (or before) April 1.
It figures that this came from the government, only they could have the ability to screw up a headcount.
The Federal Communications Commission will spend $15.5 billion to bring 100 megabit-per-second speeds to 100 million Americans by the end of the decade.
Yet only 5 percent don't have access to high-speed Internet.
The rhyme nor reason behind Major League baseball blacking out televised games of the Minnesota Twins, Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs & White Sox and the Milwaukee Brewers in Des Moines, Iowa escapes me.
There's only one e-mail address under the Contact Us heading for their web-site and I e-mailed that one person, Raquel Ramos, last March to ask why and am still waiting on a reply.
At 5, Erin Kiernan noted that the Iowa State women were currently playing Oklahoma State.
She then revealed the score as 13 to 7, but didn't identify a team with their score.
It reminded me of a sports announcer comedy bit (probably George Carlin) William & Mary 14; Bob, Carol, Ted & Alice 69. Here's a partial score Army 32.
Our friend Pat weighs in, thanks to his wife Arlee, with Big Lug Nut Big Ass (BLNBA) after seeing the Fat Guy In A Little Coat photo of him in Iraq...
that vest is a flack jacket, there is a large part of his body that is left unprotected. If it’s not a flack jacket and a life preserver instead, I’m not sure the weight-to-float ratio is correct for his big ass. That would be “BLNBA!”
Gosh, I hope that G&L Clothing has a sale soon so the Gov can get in there and get him some pants that fit. They usually have good sales on Docker Huskies.
Brett McIntyre, WHO DT meteorologist, must have been reading the Liter this week (Five Feet High And Risin') because he did an excellent job of telling viewers that at 15 feet the Raccoon River starts to cover Fleur Drive.
